Ultrasound

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine has launched a social networking site to allow attendees to hook up, discuss, and even blog before, during, and after the group’s 2009 meeting in New York City starting April 2. At least a dozen ultrasound subspecialties are now linked through the site, as well as through Facebook and Twitter.

Toshiba shows Aplio upgrade at ACC meetingVarian expands installed base

Other headlines:Digirad readies SPECT/CT for U.S. marketSiemens prepares Flash for ACCLantheus plans to spotlight microbubble benefits

Other headlines:Medrad launches US probe repair

Other headlines:PETNET branches into SPECT

Potential deadly traumatic pneumothoraces can be measured in the emergency room with a computer-aided volumetric technique that helps move patients from diagnosis to treatment many times faster than conventional visual assessments of the condition with multislice CT.

DeJarnette PACS transitions boomContextVision readies 3D ultrasound filter

Cardinal Health opens PET facility for Cornhuskers SonoSite migrates high-end technology to vets

Other headlines:Siemens passes mammography milestoneMerge enhances mammography productSwissray nabs VA contract

Other headlines:Agfa comes through on Spanish rolloutGE reaches MR milestoneMindray taps new CFOAlliance reports a profitable 2008

Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects approximately 2.9 million people in Europe, can be difficult to differentiate from other forms of arthritis. Without an early diagnosis, however, it is impossible to assess the true effect of promising early intervention strategies. Could an alternative diagnostic imaging strategy be the answer?

It wasn’t too long ago that ultrasound was a roiling sea of innovation and new product releases, spurred by a rivalry among Diasonics, ATL, Hewlett-Packard (Agilent Technologies), and Acuson. Since these companies’ acquisition by GE, Philips, and Siemens, the waters have calmed. Supersonic Imagine plans to begin making some waves -- and soon.

Philips and Toshiba hope to open up a new end of the market for hand-carried ultrasound – the high end.

Other headlines: TeraRecon upgrades Aquarius iNtuition at ECR 2009iCAD shows expanded CAD portfolio GE tunes into European concerns

A protocol involving contrast-enhanced ultrasound could better target tumors and reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies, according to a pair of studies presented Sunday. One of the studies involved more than 2000 patients.

New developments in ultrasound and MRI mean that peripheral nerve imaging is easier than ever to perform and may bring higher sensitivity to lesion detection.

Elastography is one of the emerging technologies on display at ECR 2009, reflecting the growing importance of imaging techniques that compare the inherent stiffness of healthy and abnormal tissues in advancing the diagnostic value of ultrasound. Elastography’s clinical applications were discussed at two separate satellite symposia on Saturday and Sunday.

Friendly technology for operators and patients is Hitachi Medical’s theme during the European Congress.

Medrad preps personalized protocols for ECRCAD firm readies lymph node software for ECRHitachi sets ECR showcase

Japanese researchers have established by studying nearly 500 patients that ultrasound is just as useful as CT in diagnosing intraperitoneal free air in patients suffering from abdominal pain or acute injury.

SonoSite booms on new product salesSentinelle to supply SiemensInfinitt to highlight 3D at ECRMR suite takes vets ‘over there’ Neurostar rebrands itself

Following a stream of new clinical applications for ultrasound elastography, researchers at New York Medical College have announced new evidence suggesting the technology is sensitive and accurate for characterization of carotid artery plaque. Sonoelastography could help prevent strokes and other vascular ischemic diseases, according to investigators.

Report claims ultrasound will buck economic trendClear Image, Siemens join forces for panel protectionGE, Medipattern extend alliance GE presses low-dose CT

A new endovascular sonic lysis system reduces thrombolytic dosage for treating peripheral thrombi while lessening the risk of hemorrhage by dissolving clots in as little as 12 hours, according to a report from southern Florida interventionalists at the 2009 International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy held last week in Hollywood, FL.

Pro Medicus acquires Visage ImagingToshiba licenses harmonic imaging patentFluoroPharma gains access to new patentVirtual Radiologic welcomes new CEOIDC founder steps down

Chinese ultrasound maker reports strong 4Q growthStereotaxis reports advanced interventionMerge pulls back on Chinese divestiture

Investors reward Varian 1Q growthSonoSite forecasts revenue gains

Hologic profit outlook brightens amid lower revenuesSonoSite releases breast imaging unit

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death inU.S. men, second only to lung cancer. During2008, an estimated 186,320 new cases of prostatecancer will be diagnosed in the U.S.

Ultrasound has long been an efficient and usefuladjunct technique for breast imaging. It is thefirst modality to be proposed in some situations:if a young or pregnant woman has a palpablemass, for example, or immediately after surgery.